title: The DExD/H-box helicase Dicer-2 mediates the induction of antiviral activity in drosophila.
abstract: Drosophila, like other invertebrates and plants, relies mainly on RNA interference for its defense against viruses. In flies, viral infection also triggers the expression of many genes. One of the genes induced, Vago, encodes a 18-kilodalton cysteine-rich polypeptide. Here we provide genetic evidence that the Vago gene product controlled viral load in the fat body after infection with drosophila C virus. Induction of Vago was dependent on the helicase Dicer-2. Dicer-2 belongs to the same DExD/H-box helicase family as do the RIG-I-like receptors, which sense viral infection and mediate interferon induction in mammals. We propose that this family represents an evolutionary conserved set of sensors that detect viral nucleic acids and direct antiviral responses.
authors.affiliation: Unité Propre de Recherché 9022, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 67084 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Safia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deddouche
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matt
authors.forename: Aidan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Budd
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: Cordula
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kemp
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Galiana-Arnoux
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dostert
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Antoniewski
authors.forename: Jules A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Imler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D004330:Drosophila / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005216:Fat Body / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D020365:RNA Helicases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D043244:Ribonuclease III; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C478069:DCR-2 protein, Drosophila; D043244:Ribonuclease III; D020365:RNA Helicases